Rory stopped right where he was as soon as they picked up Sethos. "Hold on a minute, I don't think hurrying right into the people looking for us is such a good idea," he objected, his voice carrying an air of finality.

"This is the Order we're talking about. It sounds like they've got the numbers to bag us or kill us without any trouble. And what do you think they'll do with those of us who are still alive? Probably tow us down to Sho or Naverre, and they'll have us executed. This is black and white, written in stone: We bum rush the town, and we'll all end up dead!"

Rory sighed. "Maybe. So what exactly do you propose? Let's say we get to the outskirts of town. Sneaking. In broad daylight. Then what? Do we just circle around it and hope they haven't been caught yet? Meanwhile, we have to avoid being seen."

He extended his hand to the Lugian teasingly, and in it was a bottle of mead. "And here, drink this before I start crying crocodile tears for your Paladin honor," he added playfully.

Gwydo takes the bottle, dwarfing it in his lugian hand, and takes a swig. Handing it back to Rory, the barbarian realizes taunting the giant may not have been the best idea as the bottle is now almost a third empty."Thanks. Refreshing."Clearing his throat, Gwydo hrumphs in thought. "As far as a plan goes, the only thing I've been able to come up with be make sure we can be there to provide a distraction to make sure Snarg and Ariaguna can get out. Other than that, I really want to introduce that guard to my fist."

Looking between Rory, Fierneceal, Javan and Sethos, Gwydo says in a more probing tone, "If you've got any ideas, I'm all for making a plan. But I think we should discuss that on the way to the outpost since it'll take a while to get there."

"I think its best we go with them and look for an opening... i don't feel like being incinerated by an elf for the second time in 2 days."

Araiguna raises his hands as a signal of surrender.

to the elf Elven:

Spoiler:

"I mean no harm to you personally or this town. I do however object to the charges brought against us and would appreciate you and your men to lower their weapons if we are to make this a respectable encounter."

"My apologies, my friend" Araiguna then repeated what he said to the elf in plain common:

"I mean no harm to you personally or this town. I do however object to the charges brought against us and would appreciate you and your men to lower their weapons if we are to make this a respectable encounter."

Snarg & Araiguna:The soldier in charge, who is wearing an insignia that Snarg recognizes as the rank of a Fahnenjunker, shakes his head no. "No chances with suspected murderers. And our Mage has a spell ready to go too, in case you try anything. Slowly now," his group of soldiers now has the two of you fully surrounded, "Any funny movements and we will be forced to respond." They begin edging the group towards the town, in a northeasterly direction.

Gwydo wrote:Gwydo takes the bottle, dwarfing it in his lugian hand, and takes a swig. Handing it back to Rory, the barbarian realizes taunting the giant may not have been the best idea as the bottle is now almost a third empty."Thanks. Refreshing."Clearing his throat, Gwydo hrumphs in thought.

When he noticed that there was still some mead left in the bottle, Rory raised an eyebrow at Gwydo and drank the rest.

"As far as a plan goes, the only thing I've been able to come up with be make sure we can be there to provide a distraction to make sure Snarg and Ariaguna can get out. Other than that, I really want to introduce that guard to my fist."

Looking between Rory, Fierneceal, Javan and Sethos, Gwydo says in a more probing tone, "If you've got any ideas, I'm all for making a plan. But I think we should discuss that on the way to the outpost since it'll take a while to get there."

"Okay...tell me about the terrain. Is there anything we could hide behind on our approach? Any trees, bushes, maybe a hill we can peep over? What do you remember?"

Snarg & Araiguna:It takes only a few seconds before one of the guards slices at Araiguna's back with his sword (take 1 damage), yelling at you to stop dragging your feet like a child.Before you can even react the Order Mage barks, harshly, that even suspected cultists and murderers, and Gnolls, will be treated under the APPT, which causes the soldier to look down a bit. But a verbal harassment apparently is insufficient, and the Fahnenjunker tells the Elven soldier that his pay will be docked for the incident.

Spoiler:

The APPT is the Articles of Proper Prisoner Treatment. It is a document detailing respect, dignity, and allowance granted to prisoners under various circumstances. It was ratified almost two centuries ago and has only been changed slightly in the intervening time. It was one of the first treaties that the Four Nations signed; and the fact that Stonehold flat refused to sign it is one of the reasons Stonehold became the 'lesser races' nation, left to its own in 'barbarism' and the like, for anyone well versed in history would know that up until then the Stonehold states were in good standing with the Four Nations. But that stigma has never been lifted, even unto this day.

Neither soldiers nor Mage give any verbal reply to Araiguna's question, trying to maintain a professional tone as they get closer to what looks like a rather small, threadbare barracks of sorts on the northwestern edge of town.

Snarg & Araiguna:As you approach the building you look at it, wondering at its odd architecture, and it takes you a while to realize what's so different about it; it is old. In style, construction materials, and otherwise it is much older then most of the other buildings nearby. It is constructed of a sort of hardened mud and clay mixture, with barely functional wood roofing, and a curved wall style that you haven't seen in recent memory. Upon being lead inside you find a fairly old looking Half-Elf of Troll-make, who is having a discussion with a dark-blue chitin'd Olthoi. He looks at the two of you as you pass by, a frown passing his features, but he says nothing. The Olthoi does not turn to stare, but you get the distinct impression that its featureless eyes are tracking you, and not the Half-Elf.

As you are lead further in and down some stairs you find an extremely small 'jail', which despite its age looks quite sturdy; it is nothing more then a mesh steel gate, over a mesh steel fence, which stretches across half a large room. On the other half is an area that would pass for a single-bed room at a common Inn in several cities. The Order Mage apologizes for the lack of a second bed, though the Fahnenjunker frowns at him for the comment, and adds that the Order will be providing a second bed and some food shortly.

Snarg looks over the room slowly. "It's seemin' that we're gonna be stayin' 'ere a bit," he says quietly, "maybe we can be gettin' some info 'bout why we're bein' accused an' who's doin' it? I'll be sittin' in jail while yer roundin' that up." He walks in to the jail area, plops his equipment down in the corner, and leans waiting against the wall.

Rory:Gwydo details what little he'd garnered about the southwestern portion of Wildeash, which was the only area he'd really wandered in. Decent amount of trees and tall grass, but nothing that would hide someone in daylight. The area around there is very flat, being at the base of a basin right before the hills crawl further into mountains at the Lost Wish range. He does note that the rooftops might be used for cover, given their sharp angles and close proximity, but otherwise has nothing else to add.

Snarg & Araiguna:You are both left your full equipment, perhaps foolishly on their part, as a courtesy. The Order does send an individual, not a Mage merely a worker, a strong looking Lugian who brings in a second bed as promised as well as a tray of soup, bread, and chicken. While the food is obviously not lavish, it's surprisingly good for the circumstances. There are no windows, and a single Magicite lamp for lighting, and you have relative privacy as the steel door past the steel fence that leads to the stairway going up remains shut, thus no one is left in the room with you or watching you.

The room itself is extremely threadbare; a few books are on a bookshelf, mostly history books but a few strange ones, including the Lusty Argonian Maid which looks like it's barely been read at all. There is a fair layer of dust on things, but it does not smell damp, mildewy, or otherwise unpleasant.

"'spose we'll be waitin' 'ere a bit," Snarg says, sighing and looking over the bookshelf, "maybe they're bein' fair. I ain't done nothin' like murder." He begins pulling out the various books on the shelf and leafing through them. After looking through them all he seems to settle on a particular one, lobbing it on to the bed. "Light readin' fer later," he winks at Araiguna.

Walking over to the gate, he tests it with his strength for several seconds before ending with a snort. Picking up the food tray, he begins shoveling the food in to his mouth. "Digh't eatfh bwaeaffawst," he explains.

Spoiler:

Checking out each of the books and leafing through them all. Plopping down the obvious one on the bed.

"We can't sneak up close enough to help, or even see what's going on," Rory argued further. "The minute they see us, we're blown. I'll go with you if it's enough to lay low while waiting for them to make a move, but it's out of our hands right now."

"Listen, Zeiss will be coming back today, but I don't know when," he suggested in a placating tone. "Let's just leave a note at the hangar door and at the inn we stayed at, telling him where we are. Of the people absent he's all we can hope for, but he's our only shot at a plan A before operation Tusker Rampage."

He sat down and tore out a page from his notebook, tore that in half, and began writing two notes: one for Z, and one for Zeiss, essentially the same thing: telling them to meet Fierneceal, Gwydo and Rory in the wooded area east of the ruins and southwest of Wildeash. "I've got Fierneceal's trail," he says while writing, "and the inn is the last place I know Javan was at. I'll send him back here while you guys guard the door, and then I'll look for Fierneceal."

He would be able to leave the note for Z at her camp near the mouth of the cave, and the note for Zeiss--as well as his name--with the innkeeper of the inn they stayed at. He intended to ask the others to wait on him to do just that as they reached Z's camp.

Gwydo and Arch:

I'm only as far as beginning to write the notes. If Gwydo does not object, I will proceed with writing them, finish them, and then the group will travel outside. I will suggest to Fierneceal that we have her close the door to the hangar and have Sethos and Javan wait at the cave entrance. The group will wait on me while I stash the note for Z at her camp, and leave the letter for Zeiss with the innkeeper, dropping my name and that of the person the note is for. The rest of us will then head out to the woods near Wildeash and set up camp, using the Survival skill to conceal it as best we can.

Last edited by Rory on Wed Jun 05, 2013 2:36 am; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : Adding onto the original post. Planning for possible future interaction with Gwydo.)

Snarg & Araiguna:The lock is fairly sturdy, but about standard for jails like this; not as good as high-grade military nor the elite that certain organizations would use. Or, put simply, you are quite certain you could break it if you tried hard enough, but it would probably be loud, and then there's the steel door beyond to contend with. You are not certain how much time passes, but no one has come by in quite a while; not even to pick up the tray. There is a dull silence, but it is interspersed with the sounds of foot traffic from the streets above. Quite a bit of it.

Rory & Crew:Gwydo does not object, though he insists he be given time during the 6 hour journey ahead to try and come up with an alternative. As you head outside the very first thing you run into is three Mosswarts, sniffing around the entrance curiously. They scatter back at the sight of your group, especially Sethos, and as you emerge into the sun you get a good look at the quarry and begin to realize there are several dozen people, all of whom are Mosswarts, Gnolls, or Kobolds, who have begun to squat or sit or otherwise rest on the slates, carved ledges, and dips in the scarred earth.

Snarg idly reads the book for a while, chucking every so often. After a while has passed he sits up and throws it in to the shelf. Going over to his pack, he brings out his jaw piece and reattaches it. "If this was so urgent to send so many people out, I'd think they'd have done something by now. Sounds like they've got bigger problems to worry about. I'm not planning on rotting in this cell while they can't figure out what to do. Although I'm sure we could break out, that's not going to do us any favors right now."

He shuffles around in his pockets until he finally pulls out the Warden's crystal. "Hoped I wouldn't have to use this, but we need to get this done fast." He turns to Araiguna and stares at him pointedly. "Whatever you do, don't tell him any more than he needs to know. Here, help block the view." Snarg positions Araiguna in the front of the cell then turns and holds the crystal out in front of himself. "Need some help speeding this along, The Warden. You there?"